American Idol Top 24: Fritz Hager makes WAVES in Hawaii
American Idol Night 2 brought us the second half of Hawaii performances and 21-year-old Tyler, Texas native Fritz Hager continued his upward trajectory in the competition. (Read our Recap)
During rehearsal, Fritz played his guitar nervously even though he is a great guitar player, and this is something he told Bebe was very common when he first plays for someone. She helped him come out of his shell and got him to nail the beginning of the performance by working on the first three notes repeatedly.
The song Fritz takes on is Dean Lewis’s beautifully penned “Waves.” It has been performed one other time on American Idol. Last season, Colin Jamieson took it on, and I thought the song’s lyrics were beautiful then, but Fritz’s rendition was the one that will have a lasting impression. He starts with clear vocals, but as it goes on, he builds the dynamics. His voice has a cool crack to it in portions, but it still stays fairly spot-on vocally even if it veers off for emotional effect at times. I absolutely loved the last few lines, as Fritz let loose more than ever and got truly lost in the music. This was a moment!
Fritz’s superpower is vulnerability
Vulnerability is Fritz’s strong suit. His voice is current, pure, and emotive. His ability to tell a story and feel the true emotion reminds me of singers like Clinton Kane (who is big on Tik Tok), James Arthur (The X Factor alum), and Dean Lewis who Fritz is covering here. He has this singer-songwriter appeal and is super likable. Singers from the past few seasons like Wyatt Pike and Julia Gargano had this quality, but Fritz is a bit more pop forward, which should benefit him. He is possibly the most likable male contestant this season. Fritz is humble and relatable.
The judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan all gave Fritz a standing ovation. Katy noted his look is a bit more rock-and-roll and less security guard, with him sporting slightly longer hair. Fritz responded that he has quit his security guard job, exclaiming, “I’m unemployed now.” Katy compared him to Kings of Leon and Mumford & Sons. Luke noted the “different depths” he gave us with the “emotion and performance.” Lionel called him a “bulldog” who “gave us attitude, on top of attitude.”
Fritz released an album recently
If you want more Fritz material, check out his self-titled EP which he released recently. His original, “Inconsequential Love” from the showstoppers appears on it. It is available on streaming platforms.
The standouts of the night for me were Leah Marlene, Katyrah Love, and Fritz. Honorable mentions go to Ava Maybee (who is super underrated) and Cadence Baker who bounced back. Tonight, was a bit deeper than last night even if I felt like it still lacked a lot of wow moments. This season seems to be giving us the unpredictable, and I expect some shocking eliminations as well as dark horses along the way.
